Apparatus and method for non-contact recharging and near field communication in a portable electronic device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods in a near field communication capable electronic device are disclosed. An antenna receives a near field signal from a recharging pad or a reader to provide a reception signal. A detector coupled to the antenna receives the reception signal and detects therefrom a voltage, current or power value representing a power level of the near field signal. A switch is coupled to the detector, and switches the reception signal corresponding to the recharging pad or the reader to a recharging transceiver to recharge a battery, or to a near field communication transceiver, respectively, on the basis of the detected voltage. A Hall-effect type magnetic sensor may be used as an alternative to the detector.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/588,471 filed on Aug. 17, 2012 which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(a) to a Korean Patent Application filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Aug. 18, 2011 and assigned Serial No.10-2011-0082050, the contents of which are herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to non-contact (wireless)recharging and near field communication in a portable electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various near field communication methods such as RFID (Radio FrequencyIdentification), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc. as well asnon-contact recharging methods such as a resonance method comprisingelectromagnetic induction, etc. have been introduced to mobile (i.e.,portable) terminals, as mobile terminal functionality has improvedrapidly.

Herein, when referring to recharging, the terms “non-contact” rechargingand “wireless” recharging will be used interchangeably and refer to aconnection without wires between a recharging power source and anelectronic device that includes a battery to be recharged. Herein, NFCrefers to near field communication between devices in close proximity,which may be communication in accordance with either the NFC protocol orother near field communication protocols such as Bluetooth.

RFID is a field of automatic identification that utilizes bar-codes,magnetic strips, etc. to store identifying information of an article.RFID is referred to as a radio frequency identifying system recognizingwritten information in a wireless method using LF, UF, or UHF frequencybands for close range communication, or microwave frequencies for longerranges. The principle of RFID is to receive information stored in a tagthrough an antenna, while a reader recognizes and analyzes theinformation for obtaining identifying information of an article with thetag.

The NFC protocol is a near field wireless communication protocol totransmit data with low power within a distance of 10 cm using frequencyof 13.56 MHz band; it is classified as a field of RFID and the standardis defined in ISO 18092.

NFC allows transmission and reception of data between informationdevices and has an advantage that a file such as an address book file, agame file, MP3 file, etc. can be transmitted and received between mobileterminals or from a note book to a mobile terminal. RFID technology of13.56 MHz (HF band) has high stability and has been used presently formobile payment means such as a transportation card, etc. and may beutilized as an information terminal for obtaining various information inthe future by accessing tag storing information. As above-mentioned, NFCterminals are in an early stage of adoption and the wide adaptation to amobile terminal henceforward, etc. is predicted.

Another area of recent technological advancement is wireless recharging,which is also referred to as no contact point recharging or non-contactrecharging. Wireless recharging power may be transmitted from a powersource to a target device in a wireless manner within severalmillimeters and it is possible to recharge the target deviceautomatically by simply placing it on a recharging pad.

A non-contact power source supplying module enhances the convenience ofpower supply for portable devices, by enabling the batteries of thedevices to be recharged without electrical connection of the deviceusing connection pins and wires to a power adapter. The time to connecta physical adapter is thereby saved, as well as the cost of replacingadapter cables as they wear out. Portable terminals using a rechargeablebattery include mobile terminals, MP3 players, notebook computers,digital cameras, etc. Also, it is possible to pursue a variety offunctions by supplying power to non-source devices such an electronicshoe game (a game with a card dispensing shoe) or electronic board gamein a non-contact manner.

As above-mentioned, the desire for consumers to use mobile terminalswith improved functions and with the latest technology is never ending.Thus it is predicted that the demand for portable terminals equippedwith both near field wireless communication and non-contact rechargingcapability will rise in the near future.

However, there remains a trend and desire for portable terminals to beslim and compact, and to be manufactured at a low cost. Therefore, anyimprovements in functionality, such as by adding NFC and wirelesscharging electronics, should be accomplished by adding as little extrasize, weight and complexity to current devices as possible.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an apparatus and a method in anelectronic device for receiving a near field signal from a rechargingpad or from a NFC device/reader. When the near field signal correspondsto the recharging pad, it is switched to a non-contact rechargingtransceiver in the electronic device. When the near field signalcorresponds to the NFC device/reader, it is switched to a NFCtransceiver within the electronic device.

Exemplary embodiments of apparatus and methods in a near fieldcommunication capable electronic device are disclosed herein. An antennareceives a near field signal from a recharging pad or a reader toprovide a reception signal. A detector coupled to the antenna receivesthe reception signal and detects therefrom a voltage, current or powervalue representing a power level of the near field signal. A switch iscoupled to the detector, and switches the reception signal correspondingto the recharging pad or the reader to a recharging transceiver torecharge a battery, or to a near field communication transceiver,respectively, on the basis of the detected voltage. A Hall-effect typemagnetic sensor may be used as an alternative to the detector.

Advantages of certain embodiments of the invention include a morecompact design for the electronic device, and reduced manufacturing costby integrating a NFC antenna with a coil used for non-contactrecharging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an electronicdevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of another embodiment of anelectronic device the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method fordiscriminating a near field input signal as a battery recharging signalor a NFC signal, which method can be performed by electronic device ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method fordiscriminating a near field input signal as a battery recharging signalor a NFC signal, which method can be performed by electronic device ofFIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, well-known functions or constructions are not described indetail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.Also, the terms used herein are defined according to the functions ofthe present invention. The meaning of terms may vary according to theuser, the intention of the operator, usual practice, etc. Therefore, themeanings of terms used in this disclosure are intended to be construedin accordance with any definitions herein and to be consistent with thedescription herein set forth.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device, 100,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Electronic device100 may be, for example, a portable terminal such as a smart phone ortablet computer, a notebook computer, a portable music player, a PDA(personal digital assistant), and so forth. As will be explained,electronic device 100 includes components constituting an apparatus fordiscriminating an input near field signal as being either a power signalto recharge a battery, or as a near field communication (NFC) signal. Onthe basis of the discrimination, the input signal is routed to anon-contact recharging transceiver 106 to recharge a battery 114connected thereto, or to a NFC transceiver 107 to receive a near fielddata communication.

In the shown embodiment, the apparatus for discriminating the input nearfield signal includes an antenna 101, a voltage detector 102, a resistor103, a controller 104, a switch 105, the non-contact rechargingtransceiver 106 and the NFC transceiver 107.

The antenna 101 receives a signal from a recharging pad 201 acting as apower source when electronic device 100 is placed on or near it. Morespecifically, when electronic device 100 is placed on the recharging pad201 for non-contact recharging, the antenna 101 receives a signalgenerated at the recharging pad 201 due to inductive coupling orresonant inductive coupling between recharging pad 201 and antenna 101.The antenna 101 may be a NFC antenna integrated with non-contactrecharging coil. The received signal provided by the antenna will bereferred to herein as a reception signal.

When electronic device 100 is not placed on recharging pad 201, ifanother NFC capable device or reader 211 is in proximity to electronicdevice 100 and outputs a signal, antenna 101 receives that signal.Typically, a user of electronic device 100 does not attempt simultaneousrecharging and near field communication with another device 211;however, if this is attempted in this embodiment, recharging will occurand NFC communication will not occur.

The voltage detector 102 is connected to the antenna 101 for receivingthe signal from the antenna 101 (i.e., the reception signal) andmeasuring a voltage between the detector 102 and the antenna 101. Morespecifically, resistor 103 (which can be a variable resistor) isconnected between antenna 101 and ground (resistor 103 can be installedwithin, or exterior to, the voltage detector 102). As antenna 101receives the near field signal, current flows through resistor 103,producing a voltage across it. This voltage is measured by voltagedetector 102 according to Ohms' law. The voltage measurement representsa measure of the electromagnetic power of the near field signal receivedby antenna 101 from either the recharging pad 201 or the NFCdevice/reader 211. It is noted here that as an alternative to measuringvoltage with the voltage detector 102, a current detector or powerdetector may be used for measuring a current through resistor 103, orpower dissipated by resistor 103, thereby obtaining an equivalentmeasure of the near field power received by antenna 101.

The controller 104 is connected to the voltage detector 102 and receiveseither the actual voltage measured at the voltage detector 102 or asignal representing the measured voltage (or an indication ofcurrent/power in the case of a current/power detector). In response tothe voltage level received, controller 104 controls the position of theswitch 105 connected thereto. More specifically, switch 105 is a singlepole, multi throw switch (it is shown as a single pole double throwswitch but may have one or more additional outputs). The input of switch104 is connected to the output of voltage detector 102 to receive thereception signal provided by antenna 101 corresponding to the near fieldsignal from the recharging pad or the NFC device/reader.

The position of switch 105 is controlled such that the switch 105 outputis either in a first position connecting the switch input to non-contactrecharging transceiver 106, or a second position connecting the switchinput to NFC transceiver 107. The switch position is controlled bycontroller 104 in accordance with the measured voltage, current or powerlevel provided to controller 104 by detector 102.

If the voltage value measured at the voltage detector 102 is equal to orgreater than a predetermined first value, then the switch 105 positionis moved to the direction where the non-contact recharging transceiver106 is located. If the voltage value measured at the voltage detector102 is less than a predetermined second value, then the switch 105position is moved to the direction where the NFC transceiver is located.The measured voltage level expected from a near field signal provided byrecharging pad 201 is significantly higher than the level expected fromNFC device/reader 211. Therefore, the predetermined second value may beset either equal to the first value, or, it may be set substantiallyless than the first value. The predetermined first and second value maybe set close to the highest value expected for a NFC/reader device, inorder to prevent excessive voltage/current appearing at the input to NFCtransceiver 107. Alternatively, switch 105 can be at least a singlepole, triple throw switch, where a third output is provided andconnected to a dissipating resistor, to handle values in between themaximum current/voltage/power value expected from a NFC device/reader,and the minimum expected from a recharging pad.

For instance, the expected current value flowing in the case ofreceiving a recharging pad signal and switch 105 being switched to thedirection of the non-contact recharging transceiver 106 can be in therange of 500 mA to 1 A. However the expected current value flowing inthe case of receiving a reader 211 signal and switch 105 being switchedto the direction of the NFC transceiver 107 can be on the order of 1 mAor less. Therefore, with these types of currents, the predeterminedfirst value can be set in a wide range between 1 mA and 500 mA and maybe set equal to the second value (for example, a single threshold valuemay be set near a mid-way point between the expected currents, or closerto the 1 mA value to avoid too much power being applied to the NFCtransceiver).

As mentioned, the input of switch 105 is connected to the voltagedetector 102, a control input port of switch 105 is connected tocontroller 104, and the switch position is controlled by the commandsignal applied by controller 104. (Controller 104 is shown separatelybut it is conceivable that switch 105 itself or voltage detector 102itself can include the control function of controller 104.) Controller104 also controls the general operation of electronic device 100,communicating with and controlling device electronics 116 such asInput/Output electronics, memory, and so forth. It is noted here thatwith regard to antenna 101, any suitable configuration can be used toachieve the desired near field inductive type communication withrecharging pad 201 and reader 211. Examples include inductive type coilsand resonant inductive type coils, where the design is preferablyconsistent with the coil type design for recharging pad 201. If theswitch 105 is moved to the direction where the non-contact rechargingtransceiver 106 is located, transceiver 106 receives the recharging padpower signal from antenna 101 (i.e., the reception signal) throughvoltage detector 102 and switch 105 and applies the received power tothe battery 114 to recharge battery 114. The recharging of device 100may thus be carried out automatically without the necessity of anelectrical connector, merely by placing device 100 on or close torecharging pad 201 in a contact-less manner.

If the near field signal received by antenna 101 is low enough to causethe measured voltage to fall below the second threshold, this signifiesthat a NFC device/reader signal is input, and switch 105 is controlledto connect its output to NFC transceiver 107. NFC transceiver 107thereby receives input data carried by the near field signal, wherebyNFC type communication can occur. Examples include payment forgoods/services, obtaining product information at a general store, tourguide information for visitors, traffic control (e.g., payment fortolls), and a locking device for access control systems, etc. It shouldbe noted that a typical NFC enabled device has functionality of both areader and a tag. When electronic device 100 operates in a tag mode, itoutputs identifying information associated therewith to the externalreader or NFC device 211. When operating in a reader mode, it receivesinformation from NFC device 211. In any event, for brevity, NFCdevice/reader 211 will herein be referred to interchangeably as simply a“reader”.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device 200according to another embodiment of the present invention. Electronicdevice 200 is essentially the same as electronic device 100 described inconnection with FIG. 1, except that a sensing part 203 replaces thevoltage detector 102 and resistor 103. Antenna 202, switch 205,controller 204, recharging transceiver 206 and NFC transceiver 207perform the similar functions as the corresponding components of FIG. 1.

A magnet is embedded into a recharging pad 201 or a NFC device/reader211. The antenna 202 may be a NFC antenna integrated with non-contactrecharging coil.

The sensing part 203 is connected to antenna 202 and the controller 204.Sensing part 203 may comprise a Hall sensor or a MR sensor(Magneto-resistive Sensor). The Hall sensor operates based on the HallEffect principal, i.e., if a conductor is placed between permanentmagnets and a current flows through the conductor, a voltage changeoccurs due to a magnetic flux change generated between the permanentmagnets. Sensing may then be made by measuring the voltage change.

The MR sensor uses a magneto-resistive effect element that detects achange of magnetic field or the existence of magnetic substance as avoltage change. The magneto-resistive effect refers to a phenomenon inwhich the electrical resistance of a solid substance changes dependingon a magnetic field. Therefore, according to the above-mentionedprincipal, the sensing part 203 recognizes a value of magnetic fieldfrom a magnet embedded into the recharging pad 201 or the reader 211 toconvert the value of magnetic field into a value of voltage.

The controller 204 may be connected to the sensing part 203 to receivethe converted value of voltage from the sensing part 203 and move theswitch 205 position connected to the controller 204. More specifically,the switch 205 position may be moved to the direction of the non-contactrecharging transceiver 206 or the NFC transceiver 207. For example, ifthe converted voltage value of the sensing part 203 is equal to orgreater than a predetermined value (or is within a first voltage range),then the switch 205 position is moved to the direction where thenon-contact recharging transceiver is located, while if the voltagevalue measured at the sensing part 203 is less than the predeterminedvalue (or within a second voltage range), then the switch 205 is movedto the direction where the NFC transceiver is located. Alternatively,different predetermined values can be used for the two conditions. Thepredetermined value may be a voltage value corresponding to a currentvalue in the range of 1 mA to 500 mA.

Each function after being switched in one direction of the non-contactrecharging transceiver 206 or the NFC transceiver 207 was explained indetail, referring to FIG. 1 and therefore the description of eachfunction is omitted.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method fordiscriminating a near field input signal as a battery recharging signalor a NFC signal, which method can be performed by electronic device 100of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3, a signal is received from a rechargingpad or a reader through an antenna (step 301). A detector connected tothe antenna receives the signal from the antenna and detects a valuerepresenting the power level of the near field input signal. This valueis selected from a group consisting of a voltage, a current or a powervalue between the detector and the antenna (step 302), depending on thewhether a voltage, current or power detector is used within electronicdevice 100 as described earlier.

The controller connected to the detector receives the value measured atthe detector (step 303). The controller then determines whether themeasured value received from the detector is equal to or greater than apredetermined first value (step 304). If the measured value is equal toor greater than the predetermined first value, the position of theswitch connected to the controller is moved to the direction where thenon-contact transceiver is located (step 305) and the process fornon-contact recharging is carried out.

In step 304, if the measured valued is neither equal to nor greater thanthe predetermined first value (that is, less than the predeterminedfirst value), the position of the switch connected to the controller ismoved to the direction where the NFC transceiver is located (step 306)and a process for near field wireless communication is carried out.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method fordiscriminating a near field input signal as a battery recharging signalor an NFC signal, which method can be performed by the electronic device200 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the sensing part recognizes a valueof magnetic field from a magnet embedded in the recharging pad or thereader and converts the value of the magnetic field into a voltage value(step 401). The controller connected to the sensing part receives theconverted voltage value from the sensing part (step 402), and determineswhether the converted value is equal to or greater than a predeterminedvalue (step 403).

In step 403, if the converted value is equal to or greater than thepredetermined voltage value, the position of the switch connected to thecontroller is moved to the direction where the non-contact rechargingtransceiver is located (step 404) and a process for non-contactrecharging is carried out. The predetermined value may be a voltagevalue corresponding to a current value in the range of 1 mA to 500 mA.In step 403, if the converted voltage value is equal to or less than thepredetermined value, the switch connected to the controller is moved tothe direction where the NFC transceiver is located (step 405) and aprocess for near field wireless communication is carried out. Asmentioned earlier, as an alternative to using a single predeterminedvalue for both cases, first and second predetermined values can be used.In this case, if measured values fall in between the first and secondvalues, the input signal could be applied to a terminating resistorconnected to a third output port of the switch 205.

The above-described methods according to the present invention can beimplemented in hardware, firmware or as software or computer code thatcan be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM, an RAM, a floppydisk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloadedover a network originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedin such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein. In addition, it would berecognized that when a general purpose computer accesses code forimplementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the codetransforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computerfor executing the processing shown herein.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an antenna capable of receiving or transmitting a first signal to be used for near field communication; and a controller operatively coupled to the antenna, the controller configured to: receive a second signal, via the antenna, from an electronic device external to the apparatus; determine whether the electronic device comprises a charging device, based at least in part on the signal; and cause the antenna to be coupled to charging circuitry based at least in part on the determining.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: receive, as at least part of the signal, power to charge a battery operatively coupled to the apparatus, or communication information between the apparatus and the electronic device.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: determine at least one of a voltage, a current, or a power level associated with the signal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to: determine the electronic device as the charging device based at least in part on the at least one of the voltage, current, or power level falling into a specified range.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a switch to selectively couple the antenna to the charging circuitry or near field communication circuitry.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to: control the switch to couple the antenna to the near field communication circuitry based at least on a determination that the electronic device does not comprise the charging device.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to determine a magnetic field level sensed by the sensor, associated with the electronic device.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to: determine the electronic device as the charging device based on the magnetic field level falling into a specified range.
 9. An apparatus comprising: first circuitry operated using a first signal having a first characteristic; second circuitry operated using a second signal having a second characteristic; and an antenna selectively coupled to the first circuitry or the second circuitry based on a characteristic of a signal received thereby matching the first or second characteristic.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a switch coupled to the first circuitry and the second circuitry.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a controller controlling the switch to selectively couple the antenna to a corresponding one of the first circuitry and the second circuitry based at least in part on the signal received via the antenna.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a detector coupled to the switch, the detector to detect a voltage, a current, or a power associated with the signal received via the antenna.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one circuitry of the first circuitry or the second circuitry comprises charging circuitry.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the charging circuitry is configured to: charge, using a signal received via the antenna, a battery operatively coupled to the apparatus.
 15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one circuitry of the first circuitry or the second circuitry comprises near field communication circuitry.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the near field communication circuitry is configured to: receive or transmit information associated with a mobile payment via the antenna.
 17. An apparatus comprising: an inductor to receive a signal transmitted from an electronic device external to the apparatus; and a controller to selectively provide the signal to first circuitry or second circuitry of the apparatus based at least in part on a determination that the signal corresponds to a respective one of the first circuitry and the second circuitry.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to: determine, based at least in part on the signal, that the electronic device comprises a near field communication device or a charging device.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the inductor forms at least part of an antenna to be selectively coupled to at least one of the first circuitry or the second circuitry.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the inductor is configured to: receive a magnetic field signal associated with the electronic device. 